As chaos continues in Sri Lanka after protests by citizens over collapsed economy, today prime minister and acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency in the island nation. PM Wickremesinghe became the acting president of Sri Lanka after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, which has led to more protests.
Along with emergency, the government has also imposed curfew in the western province. “The prime minister as acting president has declared a state of emergency (countrywide) and imposed a curfew in the western province,” the PM’s media secretary told Reuters. The western province includes the capital Colombo.
“Since the president is out of the country, an emergency has been declared to deal with the situation,” the PM’s office said. It is notable that an economic emegency
#UPDATE Crisis-hit Sri Lanka declares an indefinite nationwide state of emergency, hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, the prime minister's office says.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 13, 2022
"Since the president is out of the country, an emergency has been declared to deal with the situation" pic.twitter.com/oSbcj3sqcR
After already capturing the president’s residence, the protestors today stormed into the PM’s office, prompting police to fire tear gas shells. The protesters are demanding resignations of both PM and Ranil Wickremesinghe President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. “There are ongoing protests outside the prime minister’s office in Colombo and we need the curfew to contain the situation,” a police officer said.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa his wife, and other family members have left the country. According to the Sri Lanka Air Force, the President landed at Male, the capital of the Maldives at about three in the morning. This is a week after the President fled from his official residence just before tens of thousands of protesters overran it. For the last few days, the Presidential residence has become a free for all picnic spot for people after the president had fled to a military base.
Reportedly, the president reached Maldives on an Antonov-32 military aircraft from Colombo. An immigration official in Colombo said that as per laws, the authorities could not prevent a sitting president from leaving the country. On their arrival in the Maldives, the president and his family were driven to an undisclosed location under police escort.
It is notable that Gotabaya was scheduled to step down from the post of president today to make away for an all-party government, but he left the country before doing that.
Earlier Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had also offered to resign to form the all-party government, but he has not done so amid continued protests. And now after the president left the country, he became the acting president.
